Many of the social concerns and themes that characterize Taming the Star Runner closely resemble those in other Hinton novels: adolescent loneliness and the need to belong (which find outlets in gangs); the inevitability of change and the loss of innocence as the protagonist grows up; and Oedipal conflicts, worked out both in actual and in surrogate families. Travis Harris, age fifteen, has gone to live with his uncle in Oklahoma rather than go to juvenile hall as punishment for assaulting his stepfather with a poker.

Although he misses his inner-city friends and occasionally feels frustrated by his loneliness in his new school, he is a stubborn loner. He usually prefers the company of his cat, and tells himself he is grateful for his uncle Ken's seeming lack of interest in him.

Gradually, however, Travis comes to appreciate the family ties that Ken represents and accepts his...